InstructorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Brief Fact Summary. The Plaintiff, Julia Newman (Plaintiff), files suit against the Defendant, F. W. Bost (Defendant), the administrator of the deceased’s estate, claiming the Defendant converted gifts the deceased had made to her by gift causa mortis.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. To constitute a gift causa mortis, a gift made in contemplation of and expectation of immediate death, there must be an intention to make a gift and actual delivery of that gift. The donor of the gift can expressly or impliedly intend to make a gift, but it must be clear that the donor knew what he was doing and that he intended to make a gift. Actual manual delivery must occur when articles are present and capable of manual delivery. Constructive delivery may occur when the things intended to be given are not present, or when present are incapable of manual delivery because of their weight or size.
To complete a gift inter vivos there must be first the intention to give and then the delivery as it is the inflexible rule that there can be no gift either inter vivos or causa mortis without the intention to give and the delivery.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Whether the deceased’s actions of handing private keys to the Plaintiff and instructing her that he wanted her to have everything in the house constituted a gift causa mortis of all of the possessions in the house including the deceased’s life insurance policy.
Held. As the life insurance policy was present in the room when the deceased gave his keys to the Plaintiff and the policy was capable of actual manual delivery, the policy was not part of the gift to the Plaintiff. But the bureau and other articles of furniture, capable of being unlocked by the keys given to the Plaintiff were gifts and the Plaintiff became owner.
Discussion. Acquisition by gift causa mortis requires the intent of the donor to make such a gift and delivery of the gift. Actual, manual delivery is needed if the item is capable of being given and is in the presence of the donor and the donee. Constructive delivery of the item is deemed sufficient if the item is incapable of being manually delivered because of its size or it is not in the presence of the donor and donee.